Biofuels

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Biofuels are solid or liquid fuels taken or created from organic or plant-derived materials known as biomass. Biofuels are a form of renewable energy created from agricultural crops (e.g., soybeans and corn) and from plants (e.g., algae). Biofuels take advantage of the energy stored in plants after photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert energy from sunlight into chemical energy by taking in carbon dioxide (CO₂) and releasing oxygen. The chemical energy within plants can be converted and used as fuel. Some liquid biofuels can be used as transportation fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel. Solid biofuels include charcoal, grass trimmings, wood, and sawdust, which can be burned to generate heat.^[1][2][3]

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, federal policies supporting biofuel production and use include grants, government-backed loans, biofuel use requirements for federal vehicles, and the Renewable Fuel Standard.^[4]

Background[edit]

Biofuels originate from biomass, which is organic matter derived from living materials such as corn, soybeans, algae, straw, lumber, and more. Biofuels can be solid (wood pellets, charcoal, and lumber), liquid (ethanol and biodiesel), or gaseous (biogas). Biofuels are categorized either as primary or secondary. Primary biofuels are used in an unprocessed form, generally for cooking, heating, and electricity generation. These fuels include wood pellets, lumbar, charcoal, corn, sugarcane, and others. Secondary biofuels are produced from biomass. These fuels include ethanol and biodiesel, which may be used in industrial processes and in motor vehicles.^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Types of biofuels[edit]

Below is a list of types of biofuels.

• Biodiesel is a combination of alcohol, such as methanol (a wood alcohol), and animal fat, recycled cooking oil, or vegetable oil. Biodiesel is produced through a chemical process called transeterification, during which glycerin is separated from vegetable oil or fat. The process results in biodiesel and glycerin, a thick, clear liquid used to make pharmaceuticals, food, soap, and other consumer products. Biodiesel can be blended with petroleum-based diesel fuel at various ratios, though typically at a lower ratio than ethanol-blended gasoline. These blends are generally sold for use in motor vehicles with engines that use diesel fuel. Soybean oil accounted for approximately 67 percent of the total raw material used to produce biodiesel in the United States in 2015; canola oil and corn oil accounted for 25 percent of the total raw materials used in 2015, and animal fats accounted for the remainder (approximately 9 percent).^[10][11]
• Renewable diesel is chemically similar to petroleum-based diesel but is processed differently than biodiesel. Renewable diesel is hydrogenated, a process in which oxygen and nitrogen are removed and replaced by hydrogen. As a result, renewable diesel does not freeze at lower temperatures like biodiesel.^{[12][13][14][15]}
• Cellulosic biofuels (also known as cellulosic ethanol) are chemically similar to bioethanol (ethanol produced from plants such as corn or sugarcane). They are produced from non-edible plant materials such as corn husks and stalks. Three sugars found in these materials—cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin—are combined and converted into cellulosic biofuels.^[16][17]
• Ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol, is a clear, colorless biofuel produced by the fermentation of plant sugars. These sugars are found in grains—such as corn, sorghum, and barley—as well as potato skins, rice, sugarcane, sugar beets, and yard clippings. These crops are fermented to produce ethanol, which can be blended with gasoline. Ethanol is primarily produced in the United States from starch-based crops like corn through dry- or wet-mill processing. During the dry-milling process, corn is ground into flour, which is then fermented into ethanol. Wet-mill plants produce sweeteners from corn (for example, high-fructose corn syrup) that can be used as food additives.^[10][18]
• Wood and other wood byproducts can be converted into liquids such as methanol, ethanol, or wood gas.^[10]

Extraction methods[edit]

The following processes are used to extract energy from biofuels:^[7][19]

• Mechanical processes can include cutting wood into smaller pieces to be burned for energy or heat in homes or other buildings and grinding flour to be fermented into ethanol.
• Thermochemical processes include the combustion of biomass into energy.
• Chemical processes can include the use of chemical reactions between catalysts and oil molecules to make biodiesel and cellulose-based ethanol.
• Biochemical processes include the fermentation of sugars or starches into alcohol to be used for fuel.

Production and consumption[edit]

In 2015, biofuels (biomass in the chart below) accounted for 4.88 percent (1,347.03 trillion BTU)^[20] of U.S. energy consumed in the transportation sector. Petroleum was the largest source of transportation energy and accounted for 91.78 percent (25,358.20 trillion BTU). Natural gas accounted for 3.34 percent (922.90 trillion BTU) of energy used for transportation in 2015.^[21][22][23]

From 2000 to 2015, consumption of biofuels for transportation increased by 898.64 percent (an increase of 1,212.15 trillion BTU), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Petroleum consumption decreased by 1.29 percent (a decrease of 330.39 trillion BTU) and natural gas consumption increased by 37.34 percent (an increase of 250.90 trillion BTU). Energy consumption in the transportation sector grew by 4.27 percent (1,132.66 trillion BTU) from 2000 to 2015.^[21][22][24]

Biodiesel[edit]

As of December 2016, the United States had 96 plants producing biodiesel. These facilities had a production capacity of 2.3 billion gallons per year as of December 2016. In the month of December 2016, the United States produced 143 million gallons of biodiesel. The chart below shows monthly biodiesel production in the United States from 2014 to 2016.^[25]

U.S. monthly biodiesel production (2014-2016)

Federal policies[edit]

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, federal policies supporting biofuel production and use include grants, government-backed loans, biofuel use requirements for federal vehicles, and the Renewable Fuel Standard (described below).

Renewable Fuel Standard[edit]

Congress passed the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Congress passed the law to address high energy prices and the increase in U.S. imports of oil. The RFS is a program mandating that transportation fuels contain a minimum amount of biofuel, an amount that increases annually. The program is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 2005, Congress set a target of adding 4 billion gallons of renewable fuel to the U.S. gasoline supply by 2006 with a target of 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2012. In 2004, gasoline sold in the United States contained 3.4 billion gallons of renewable fuels. The program is enforced by requiring oil refiners and gasoline and diesel fuel importers to create and/or sell biofuel blends. These entities either must meet targets set by the EPA or trade credits with companies that produce more than the required amount of biofuel.^{[26][27][28][29][30]}

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

The first version of the program was called RFS1. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 established a program called RFS2. RFS2 raised the target of the previous program to 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels to be produced annually by the year 2022. The second iteration of the program also created classifications for different types of renewable fuels. These classifications included cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and renewable fuel. In addition, the act mandated volume requirements for each type. Each fuel type was required to emit fewer carbon dioxide emissions.

On May 18, 2016, the EPA set a 2017 biofuel requirement of 18.8 billion gallons, an increase of 700 million gallons of renewable fuel from the 2016 requirement. The 2017 goal set by the EPA was lower than the target set by Congress in the 2007 statute, which mandated 24 billion gallons of biofuels by the year 2017—5.2 billion gallons more than the 2017 goal. According to assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation Janet McCabe, "Despite significant increases in renewable fuel use in the United States, real-world constraints, such as the slower than expected development of the cellulosic biofuel industry and constraints in the marketplace needed to supply certain biofuels to consumers, have made the timeline laid out by Congress impossible to achieve." The final version of the rule is available here.^[31][32][33]

Debate[edit]

Proponents[edit]

Proponents of policies supporting biofuels argue that biofuels produce fewer carbon dioxide emissions when they are used. These proponents contend that federal and state policies should support fuels that produce less carbon dioxide in order to address potentially human-caused climate change, which these proponents link to fuels with greater carbon content, such as oil, coal, and natural gas. Some proponents argue that policies should incentivize biofuel production through direct funding, tax incentives, government-based loans and loan guarantees, state and federal standards requiring the blending of biofuels with gasoline, and other policies. The Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group, argues that renewable fuel standards such as the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and state-level standards are successful at incentivizing producers of motor fuel to increase their production of biofuels and incentivizing consumers to use more biofuels.^[34]

A sample of biodiesel made from soybeans

Industry proponents, including biofuel industry groups, argue that policies supporting biofuel production help create jobs, reduce the need to import oil and natural gas, and help meet energy needs brought on by a growing population. The Advanced Biofuels Association, a biofuel industry advocacy group, argues that Congress should maintain the Renewable Fuel Standard and loan programs for biofuels as well as continue tax incentives for the biofuel industry so as to provide certainty of the industry's future to private investors.^[35][36]

Other proponents support the production and use of biofuels but argue in favor of regulations on its production. The Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club, an environmental advocacy group, argues that regulations should be enacted to limit the potential environmental effects of biofuel production. These regulations include state monitoring of underground aquifers used to withdraw water for biofuel production, increased water use permit fees for biofuel industries that withdraw larger amounts of water, rules for disposing of leftover materials (such as distiller grains) after ethanol is produced, and regulations limiting the loss of soil due to biofuel production.^[37]

Opponents[edit]

Opponents of federal policies supporting biofuels argue that these policies, such as the Renewable Fuel Standard, inflate the demand for biofuels and result in higher prices for corn, soybeans, and other biomass used in biofuel production. According to these opponents, this results in higher food prices by diverting biomass from food production to biofuel production. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative policy organization, argues that the indirect effects of policies such as the Renewable Fuel Standard include shifting the costs of biofuel production to vehicle users and the food and agricultural industries and concentrating the economic benefits to biofuel industries.^[38][39]

Other opponents of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) argue that the standard is unsuccessful at meeting its goals to expand biofuel production and use and to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. According to a November 2016 from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), there is limited production for secondary biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, to be blended in gasoline than previously estimated and less potential for expanded ethanol and biodiesel production through the year 2022. According to the GAO report, high production costs are the primary factor of the limited biofuel production. Further, the report found that the RFS would likely not meet its goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions due to the limited production. The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free market policy organization that opposes the RFS, argues that the GAO report provides evidence that the Renewable Fuel Standard has been unsuccessful at meeting its policy goals and thus should be repealed.^[40][41]

Some opponents of policies supporting biofuel production argue that other factors play a greater role in reducing carbon dioxide emissions than the Renewable Fuel Standard and similar policies. These opponents argue that increased natural gas production from 2007 to 2015 has led to greater adoption of natural gas-fired electrical generating units, which produce fewer carbon dioxide emissions than oil or coal-fired generating units. Mark J. Perry, a professor of economics at the University of Michigan and an economist at the American Enterprise Institute, a free market policy group, argued in 2013 that the 12.4 percent decline of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in the United States from 2007 to 2013 (according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration) should be attributed to the increase in natural gas production beginning in 2007 and the adoption of natural gas-fired units to generate electricity.^[42]

See also[edit]

• 

  Ethanol

• 

  Biomass

• 

  Gasoline prices

• 

  Glossary of energy terms

Footnotes[edit]

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